One Pair of Sandals Led to Another

Have you ever purchased a doll solely because of an accessory?  I rarely do, but I did this past weekend.  I had to have the black sandals that Barbie Style Glam Vacation Barbie (a.k.a. Resort Barbie) wears, so I took the plunge.

Goddess loves them and immediately tried on several fashions, including the extra pink blouse with waist tie and denim shorts that came with the Glam Vacation doll.  Photos of the fashions she tried on are shown below:

This slip dress by Shasha was first.  We loved this dress with the sandals.

Because the pink blouse has a plunging neckline, underneath, Goddess will wear matching lingerie made by Paulette of Limbé dolls.

The denim shorts fit better with the undies on and the bra will give her the exact amount of coverage when wearing the see-through blouse.

An outside photo illustrates how the sandals look with the extra Glam Vacation fashion, minus the bathing suit that came with it.

She tried on this striped top just for fun, knowing all along that she would probably never wear it again.

A couple of  leggings and tunics by Shasha made for the taller, Color Infusion Janay were tried on next.  Here Goddess wears a black and white striped tunic with textured black leggings.

The leggings are actually too long for Goddess.  We pulled them up to shorten the leg length and allowed the tunic to conceal the excess fabric.

Janay's white leggings and the black and white striped tunic were tried next.  Goddess borrowed a leather clutch that I made for another doll some time ago.

This simple white dress was the last thing Goddess tried on.  She thought, "These black sandals look okay with this dress but I'd love to have a pair of white sandals, too."

So... I made a pair using white foam and other materials.

White foam has been cut out to form the bottom and innersole of the sandal; white elastic cord will form the straps at the toe and the ankle-to-calf straps.  Instead of using foam for the heel of the sandals (the smaller white cutouts shown above), I used cardboard from a cereal-type box for the actual soles and heels.  

Materials included:

• Scissors
• Pencil
• White craft foam (I did not have the sticky back kind, which works better and saves time!)
• White elastic cord (1-2/8 inches x4 to create the toe bands; 8 inches x2 to create the ankle-to-calf straps)
• Canned carbonated water box, which is similar in weight to a cereal box, to make the soles and heels of the sandals; the inside of the box is brown which serves as the brown soles and heels.
• Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue

To create a pattern for the sandals, I traced the sole of the black sandal onto a piece of white foam (twice), cut these patterns out, flipped them over (to use for the other foot), traced them again, and cut out the second set.   The result was a total of four pieces of foam, two for each sandal.

I sewed the ends of each of the two 1-2/8 inch elastic cords together to create the straps for the toe of the sandals (two for each sandal).  These were looped around the top foam.   The straps of each ankle/calf strap was centered and positioned underneath the back of the top foam before the bottom foam was placed underneath.  I tacked these two pieces of foam in place with a couple of stitches near the toe and a couple near the back, then I filled in the space between the layers of foam with glue.  I placed a small weight on top of each to hold the pieces of foam in place while they dried overnight, making sure that the pieces did not shift underneath the weight of the foam.

After drying, I traced the newly created sandal onto a piece of the carbonated water box x 2 to create the soles.  Finally, I traced the back of the sandal (the area for the heel) onto another piece of the box x2 to create the heels.  The soles and heels were glued in place.

Side view.  Flat elastic or ribbon would have been better and would allow the pieces of foam to lie flatter. (When you know better you do better.)

Longer pieces of elasticized cord can be used to create longer ankle-to-calf ties.  This was the length we desired.

I have the black sandals* I wanted and now Goddess has the white sandals she desired.

The black sandals fall off easily.  I lost one during the process of trying on the various fashions.  It took several minutes of crawling and feeling around on the floor for me to find it!   (The things we do during doll play!)

~*~*~*~*~*

Watch a sandal-making video by Limbé Dolls here.  Her technique differs from mine.  It can be a helpful visual if you desire to make similar sandals.  She has several shoe tutorials at the link.


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